Reclining chair



Aug- 13, 1953 w. c. ROGERS ETAL 3,100,668

REGLINING CHAIR 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 17. 1960 FIG] lZ/IS s ma R e Em W 6. ma@ I VER 1&1 .r mmc 5. W T YM B i r W L m m ,/f.a NNUU I n lll .r

ATTORNEYS Aug. 13, 1963 w. c. ROGERS ETAL RECLINING CHAIR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 17. 1960 INVENTORS NED W. MIZELLE WALTER C. ROGERS i0/ 52 54 le FIGB BY ma; asm,la.gaf. gw@

ATTORNEYS Aug- 13, 1963 w. c. ROGERS Em. 3,100,668A

RECLINING CHAIR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 17. 1960 FIG? il', Il

s a 6 m n EMM n man E ,-,V m Mc f wm n k- Nw o s 9 u m J/ 4/ 6 .l lo 2 7 6 n 2 o f 4 4 O 6 0 Q 4 4 n M o w 5 l @.of o e p Q G ATTORNEYS United States Patent Oil ice 3=,illll,6h8 Patented Aug.. 13, 1963 3,100,668 j RECLINNG CHAIR Walter Clark Rogers and Ned W. Mizelle, High Point, N .C., assignors, by mesne assignments, Ato General Steel Products, Inc., High Point, N.C., a corporation of ANorth Carolina Filed Feb. 17, 1960, Ser. No. 9,277 5 Claims. (Cl. 297-89) This invention relates to reclining chairs, and more particularly to reclining chairs having leg and footrest assemblies mounted upon the chair -for movement coordinated with movement of the chair to land from a reclining position. A

ln reclining chairs of the general type with which the present invention is concerned, a footrest member is usually supported 'from the two relatively movable por-- tions of the chair by linkage which acts, when the `chair is moved to the reclining position, to position the footrest in an upwardly facing position at the front of the chair. Ordinarily, the ootrest is located lat a position spaced outwardly from the .front of the chair to support the feet of a person seated in the chair when the chair is in its reclined position. l j

When the chair is disposed in its normal or nonreclined position, the footrest is not used `and movement of the chair to its normal position is convention-ally einploy'ed to retract the footrest into the front of the chair. For the sake of appearance, the footrest is usually re-` tna-cted to a substantially vertical position across the front of the chair, thereby concealing its` 'supporting linkage when the chair is in the normal position. Since the uppermost portion of the footrezst cannot, in` its retracted position, project above the level of the chair seat, a 'footrest of any :substantial width extends substantially the Aentire distance between the seat cushion and the door. Constructions of this type have restricted possible stylings of reclining chairs to that form in which the bottom of the chair is supported only a slight `distance iabove the floor and enclosing ysubstantially the entire portion of the chair between the floor and the seat. i

It is Ia primary object of this invention to provide a reclining chair having 'a retractable footrest assembly which does not occupy the entire space between the seat and the floor.

Another `object of the invention is to provide a reclining chair having la Ifootrest .assembly/.which may be extended a lsubstantial ldistance in front of the chair when the chair is in its reclined position 'and which may be concealed beneath the chair in its normal position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a reclining chair having a footrest -and ra leg rest assembly in which the leg rest conceals the footrest and its linkage when the chair is in the erect position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a reclining chair with a footrest shiftable between la retracted position and an extended position disposed in front of the chair as well las a leg rest shiftable Ibetween a retracted position and an extended position Abetween the footrest and the chair. L j

The foregoing and other objects are achieved in a reclining chair wherein the foot and leg rest structure takes lthe fonm of two relatively movable support inember-s mounted upon :a common link. For convenience, one of the members is referred to a footrest while the other member is referred to a leg rest, the ltwo terms being derived `from their relative positions to the chair when the `assembly is in its extended position. The footrest is rigidly connected to the support link-while the leg rest is pivotally mounted upon the support link. Both foot and leg rest members over-lie the support link when it is in its extended position and define a substantially continuous 2 supporting surface above the support link. The support link yis coupled to the outer end of an extensible linkage which is in turn :supported from one of the relatively movable rnembers of a reclining chair assembly. An actuating linkage couples the leg -rest supporting linkage to the other of the relatively movable members to automatically extend the leg rest assembly as the chair is moved to its reclining position and to retract the leg rest supporting linkage to a contracted position as the chair is moved t0 its normal or upright position.

When the chair is in its normal position, the support link :is located in a generally horizontal position closely beneath ithe seat of the chair -and projects .rearwardly underneath the chair seat from .a point somewhat behind the front side of the chair. When 4the support link is in this v position the footrest is located in a downwardly facing Y position rearwardly of the front of the chair and drawn upwardly, by the contracted linkage to a position closely adjacent the bottom of the chair seat. The ieg rest is pivotally supported upon that end off the support link located `adjacent the front of the chair in this position. Lugs formed on the leg rest support member engage the linkage to posit-ion the leg rest in a generally ver-tical position extending across the 'front of the chair so that the leg rest appears to be `a fixed chair fname member immediately beneaththe chair seat when the chair is in its normal position. Since the contracted linkage is extremely compact, the vertical dimension of the leg rest in the last mentioned position may be made quite small and yet, at the salme time, completely conceal the linkage and fixed "footrest As the chair is moved to its reclining position, the linkage drives the support link through a rotation relative to the fixed parts of lthe chair of substantially 180 and, at the same time, translates the support link to a location spaced outwardly from the front of the chair. This moyemeut carries the footrest fixed to the support link into an upwardly facing position. j As the support link moves as described above, a second stop lng on the leg rest support engages the linkage and the leg rest is rotated upwardly through into an upwardly facing position. Since the upport link is moved in translation to a location spaced outwardly from the chair, the leg rest is located, in the extended position, -a sufficient distance in front of the chair. By constructing the leg rest in two portions, a relatively narrow portion may be employed to completely conceal the linkage land remainder of the leg rest while, since the remaining portion of the leg rest is located in a substantially horizontal position when retracted, the corresponding width of the remaining portion of the leg rest may be varied practically at will.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent *by reference to the following specification and the drawings. y A

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a plan view, partially in section, of a reclining chairjframe with a leg and footrest assembly embodying the present invention;

FlG. 2 is a ycross-sectional View of the chair assembly of FIG. l taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a ydetail view taken on the line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FiG. 4 is a detail cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a det-ail cross-sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of FIG. l;

FIG. 6 is a detail crosssectional view taken on the line 6 6 of FlG. l;

FIG. 7 "is a view similarto FIG. 2 showing the leg and footrest assembly in a partially extended position;

and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to. FIGS. 2 and 7 showing the leg and footrest assembly in its fully extended position.

Y Referring tirst to FIGS. 1 and 2,-a reclining chair embodying the'present invention includes a stationary frame or base designated generally 10 which includes four legs 12 rigidly interconnected by side frame members 1-4 and 16 and a back `fname member 18. In order to provide clearance for oper-ation of the leg and footrest assembly to be described below, the front side of the stationary frame is left entirely open. For the same reason, side iframe members 14 and 16 lare supported -a substantial distance above the iioor by legs 12.

A reclining frame assembly 20 is supported upon stationary frame -10 by structure to be described below for movement between a normal position shown in FIG. 2 'and a reclining position partially shown in FIG. 8. In the particular chair illustnated, both the yseat frame designated generally 22 and the chair back frame 24 are shown as being a unitary structure. This particular construction is not essential to the invention.

Reclining frame 20 is mounted upon stationary `frame 10 by elements which form a part of the leg Iand ootrest assembly. These elements include a base frame link 30 which is ixedly secured to side fname mem-ber 16 of the stationary base, a reclining frame link *3-2 which is lixedl-y secured to a side `frame member 28 of the recliningl fname. Reclining frame link 32 is pivotally coupled to base fname link 30 by an arm 34 rigidly connected to link 32 as by rivets 36 and pivotally connected to :base fname link 30` by pivotpin 38.

An exactly similar structure supports the opposite side frame member 26 of the reclining frame upon side fname member `14` of the stationary frame 10. Since the support members and linkages employed on the opposite sides of the chair diier from each other only in being right and; left handed, only the left hand linkagei.e.

42 urging the drive link to rotate in a clockwise direction.

A footrest 82 is tixedly mounted upon the end or" support link 68`opposite the end connected by pin 66 to cross link 58. A leg rest 84 is pivotally mounted upon support link 68 by a supportpl-ate -86 which is pivotally supported upon pivot pin 66 which also pivotally connects support link 68 to cross link 58.

Both footrest -82 'and leg rest 84 extend between support links 68- and 68R and are mutually supported by the two support links.

To control the pivotal position of plate `86, and hence leg rest l84, a pair of stopt lugs 88 and 96- are welded that associatedwith frame members 16 and 28 will be described in `det-ail. Like reference numerals will be ernployed to designate corresponding parts of the right hand linkage associated Iframe members 14 and 26 with the subscript R added to reference numerals designating spe- V l citic parts of the right-hand linkage.

The general onganization of the -leg and footrest assem- -bly appears most clearly in FIG. 8 where the yassembly is shown in its fully extended position. A mounting plate l4.0 is lixedly secured to reclining frame link 32` nearthe front end of the link. A drive link 42 is pivotally supported at one end upon plate by a pivot pin 44 and a crank arm 46, rigidly secured to this end of drive link 42', converts link 42 into a bell crank. A bent link 48 is pivotally connected at one end by ya pivot pin to the distal end of the crank 46 and a second pivot pin 52pivotally connects the opposite end of link 48 to a strap 54 ixedly securedV to base link 30.

Y 'A' pair of cross links `56 and 58 are pivotally connected to each other intenmediate their lends by a third pin 60. Cross link 56 is connected at one end by a pivot pin (62 tothe vfront end of plate 40.` Cross link 58 is connected at one end by pivot pin 64 to the outer end 'of drive link 42 and is connected adjacent its opposite end by a pivot pin 66 to one end of a leg and footrest support link 68. A control link 70 is connected by pivot pin 72 to the outer end of cross link 56 and connected at its opposite end to -a location on support link 68 spaced from pivot pin -66 by a pivot pin 74.

' An overcenter tension spring 76 -is connected between an ear 78 iixed on plate `40 and a lug, 80 pivotally supported upon pivot pin 64. When the linkage is in the fully extended position shown in FIG. 8, spring '76 resiliently maintains thel linkage Vin this position since the spring exerts a biasing force on drive link 42. urging link 42 to4 rotate in a countercloclewise direction about its pivot `44. When the linkage isA in the Ifully contracted position shown in FIG. 2, spring 76 passes on the opposite side of pivot 44 to thus exert a force on drive link cross link 58.`

on the plate `86 and project from the plate -to respectively engage the side of cross link 58 when the linkage is in its fully extended or fully contracted position.

Lug 88, in addition to positioning the leg rest when th\e linkage is fully extended also assists a projecting flange 94 on plate 86 in defining the fully extended position of the linkage. As best seen in FIG. 3, plate 86 is located on one side of support link 68 and flange 94 projects from plate 86 to extend across the support link. Referring to FIG. 8, it isV seen that spring` 76 exerts a force tending to further extend the linkage by reducing the angular displacement between cross links 56 and 58. As the linkage moves toward its fully extended position, the upper edge of support link 6*8 engages the under side of liange 94 and thus applies a force pivoting support plate 86 in a counterclockwise direction (FIG. 8) about .pivot pin 66. This clockwise pivotal movement of plate 86 is stopped when lug 88 engages cross link 58. Furrther extension of the linkage is thus arrested and leg support 84 is firmly held in the position shownin FIG. 8.

Operation of the linkage may be best seen by following the movement of the respective parts, from the fully extendedposition shown in FIG. 8 to the partially contracted position shown in FIG. 7 and hence to the fully contracted position shown in FIG; 2. Operation of the linkage is controlled by the relative position of the stationary and reclining portions of the chair.

In FIG. 8, the chair is in its fully reclined position and in :this ease the linkage is fully'extended to locate Ileg rest 84 and footrest 82 atV a location spaced outwardly from the front of the chair to comfortably support the legs of a person seated in the chair. The chair is re- -turned to the normal position shown in FIG. 2 by manually moving :the reclining fname, the linkage lbeing driven to its contracted position by the return movement of the .recliningV chair. v

'During the initial portions of the movement of the reclining frame toward its normalv position-Lathe move'- ment ofthe reclining frame from the position of FIG. 8 to the position of FIG. 7, drive link 42 is pivoted in a clockwise direction (FIGS. 7 and 8) about its Vpivot 44 because of the constraint exerted by bent link 48. Since this pivotal movement ofV drive link 42 carries pivot pin downwardly and rearwardly of the chair,V support link 68 must necessarily follow this movement because cross link 58, is connected between pin 64 and pivot 66` on support link 68. Cross link 56 is likewise pivoted in a clockwise direction since the relative locations of pivot pins 44, 60', 62 and 64 require that cross link 56' remain in approximate parallelism with drive link 42. The motion: of the outer end of the` cross llink 56 is transmitted to support link 68 and, because of `the geometrical re1ationship of the linkage, causes support link 68 to pivot in a clockwise, direction about pivot pin 66 relative to Because of this relative pivotal movement between links 68 and 58, the outer end 92 of link 70 moves away from horizontal flange 94 and support plate I86 becomes free to pivot about pin 66 by gravity until lug, 90. engages the side edge of link 58.

Continuedmovement of Vreclining frame 20 to its normalk position eventually locates drive linkY 42 in the substantially horizontal position shown in FIG. 2. This action carries the entire linkage into a location beneath drawn upwardly toward the bottom of the chair seat to. be located somewhat above the lower edge of side fnameV l1li of the stationary base. -As support link 68 is carried into' this position, an extension 96 of support link 63 comes into contact with horizontal flange 94 of the leg rest support plate at a location tending to urge the support plate to pivot in a clockwise direction (FIG. 2) about pin 66. However, since lug l90 is engaged with the side of cross link 58, this movement cannot take place and leg rest 84 is thus firmly positioned to lie in a vertical outwardly facing relationship across the` open front portion of stationary base 10. Because of -the fact that the line of action of spring 76 passes above pivot 44 of drive Ilink 42, spring 76 exerts a force tending to maintain leg rest 84 in the last mentioned position.

In order to reduce the forces exerted on the linkage when the chair is in its normal position shown in FIG. 2, 4a brace lug 98 is rigidly fixed to reclining frame link 3-2 to project downwardly from llink 32 and eng-age the side edge of drive link 42 with a horizontally projecting tow portion to thereby prevent pivotal movement of drive link `42 in a clockwise direction Aas viewed in FIG. 2.

As best appreciated in FIG. 2, when the chair is in its normal position, the foot and leg rest linkage is completely concealed beneath the chair seat and leg rest 84 'is positioned by the engagement between lug 90 and link 58 and between extension 96 and flange 94 to extend across the open front portion of the stationary frame in front of the linkage. Because of the relatively compact configuration of the linkage in its contracted position, the width of leg rest 84 (its vertical dimension in FIG. 2) may be made reasonably small so that the bulky appearance of most reclining chairs provided with extensible leg rests is eliminated. `Further, because of the pivotal mounting of leg rest 84 upon the support link, the leg rest may be spaced outwardly from the front of the chair when the elements are in the reclining position, thus permitting the employment of a relatively narrow leg rest while at the same time permitting the leg rest to be located sufficiently forward of the front of the chair to comfortably perform its function.

Movement of the reclining frame from the normal position to the reclining position drives the linkage through the motions described above in reverse. In movement in either direction between the extreme positions of FIGS. 2 and 8, footrest 82 is rotated through approximately 180 and leg rest 84 is rotated through approximately 90. Bothrrests also move in translation.

While we have described but one embodiment of our invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed embodiment may be modified. Therefore, the foregoing description is to be considered exemplary rather than limiting, and the true scope of our invention is that defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a reclining chair having a seat mounted for reclining movement on a base, a footrest fixture comprising a linkage including a first pair of links pivotally mounted at longitudinally spaced points on said seat, an actuating link connected between said base and one of said first pair of links for manipulating said linkage between a retracted position and an extended position upon movement of said seat relative to said base, a footrest, a second pair of links of said linkage being connected at spaced points to said footrest and to said first pair of links to4 6 I andsaid` extended position to thereby resiliently resist movement of said linkage from either of said retracted or extended positions.

2. A reclining chair comprising a stationary memberJ a reclining member mounted -for movement relative to said stationary member between a normal position and a reclining position, a support link, a footrest fixedly mount ed upon said support link adjacent one end thereof, linkage means including a first link pivotally connected to said support link adjacent the other end thereof for locating said support link beaneath the seat of said chair with said footrest in a downwardly facing position when said reclining` member is in said normal position and for supportng said support link at a location spaced outwardly from the front of said chair with said footrest in an upwardly facing position vwhen said reclining member is in said reclining position, a plate pivotally supported between said support link and said rst link upon the pivotal connection therebetween, a liange projecting from said plate across said support link, a pair of spaced lugs fixediy mounted on said plate and projecting from the opposite side thereof into the path of movement of said first link, one portion of said support link being engageable with said flange to pivot said plate about said pivotal connection to locate one of said lugs in engagement with said first link when said support linky is located beneath said chair to thereby locate said leg rest in a vertically disposed forwardly facing position across the front of said chair, and a second portion of said support link engageable with said ange to pivot said plate about said pivotal connection until the other of said lugs engages said first link to thereby locate said leg rest in an upwardly facing position when said support link is at said second location.

3.AV reclining chair `comprising a stationary member, a reclining member supported on said stationary member for movement between a normal and a reclining position, linkage means mounted on one of said members for movement between a contracted position wherein said linkage means is disposed beneath said one of said members and an extended position wherein said linkage means projects outwardly from the front of said chair, actuating means coupling said linkage means to the other of said members to drive said linkage means from said contracted position to said extended position as said reclining member is moved from said normal position to said reclining position, a footrest and a leg rest, a single support link for supporting the footrest and the leg rest, said footrest being lixedly connected with said support link and said leg rest being pivotally connected to said support link, means coupling said support link to said linkage means to locate said support link beneath said chair with said footrest in a downwardly facing position when said linkage means is contracted and to locate said support link at a position spaced outwardly from the front of said chair with said footrest in an upwardly facing position whenV said linkage means is extended, and means on said leg rest engageable with said linkage means for pivoting said leg rest from a forward facing position in front of said support link to an upwardly facing position spaced from the front of said chair as said linkage means is moved from its contracted position to its extended position.

4. A reclining chair linkage assembly comprising a pair of frame links coupled to each other adjacent their rearward ends for pivotal movement relative to each other about a horizontal axis between a normal position wherein the forward ends of said frame links are located adjacent each other and an expanded position wherein the forward ends of said frame links vertically separated from each other, a drive link pivotally mounted at one end upon one of said frame links, a first cross link pivotally mounted at one end on said one of said frame links at a location spaced from said drive link, a second cross link pivotally connected to the other end of said drive link and pivotally connected at an intermediate location to an intermediate Vlocation on said rst cross link, a control ylink pivotally connected at one' end vto the other end of' said irst cross link, a supportrlink pivotallyv connected adjacent one endto the other end of said second cross link and pivotally connected at an intermediate locationl to the other end of said control link', a leg rest support plate pivotally mountedupon said support link adjacent said one end ofsaid support link, means connecting said second cross link and said leg rest support plate to said supportlink for pivotal` movement relative to said support link and to each other about a common axis, an actuating link pivotally coupled between the other of said frame links and said drive link for pivoting said drive link upon said one frame link to manipulate said rst and said second cross linksand said control link as said frame links are moved' from said normal position to said expanded position to swing said support link 'from a generally horizontal position adjacent said" one frame link through substantially 180 into a generally horizontal position spaced forwardly from the forward ends of said frame links, and means on said leg rest support plate engageable with said. second cross link for pivoting said leg rest' support plate about said one end of said support link through an angle of substantially 90 as said frame links are movedV from said normal position to said eX- panded position,` said means on said leg rest support plate 8 comprising a pair of spaced lugs engageable withY said' second cross link to define' opposite 'end' limits to pivotal lmovement of said leg rest support plate relative to said second cross link, and a flange on said leg rest support plate engageable with said support link toxdeiine opposite end limits to pivotal movement of said leg rest support plate relative to said support link. f

- 5. A reclining chair linkage assemblypas defined in claim 4 wherein said llan'ge and one of saidt lugs are respectively engaged 'withjsaid supportv link and said second cross link when saidY frame links are in said eX- panded position, and spring means coupled between said' one of said vframe links and' said drive links biasing saidy j linkage assembly to resiliently maintain said support link and said second cross link respectively engaged with said ilange and saidone of said lu'gs.

RefereneesCited in the file of thislpatent UNITED STATES PA'frENrs' 

1. IN A RECLINING CHAIR HAVING A SEAT MOUNTED FOR RECLINING MOVEMENT ON A BASE, A FOOTREST FIXTURE COMPRISING A LINKAGE INCLUDING A FIRST PAIR OF LINKS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT LONGITUDINALLY SPACED POINTS ON SAID SEAT, AN ACTUATING LINK CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID BASE AND ONE OF SAID FIRST PAIR OF LINKS FOR MANIPULATING SAID LINKAGE BETWEEN A RETRACTED POSITION AND AN EXTENDED POSITION UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID SEAT RELATIVE TO SAID BASE, A FOOTREST, A SECOND PAIR OF LINKS OF SAID LINKAGE BEING CONNECTED AT SPACED POINTS TO SAID FOOTREST AND TO SAID FIRST PAIR OF LINKS TO MANIPULATE SAID FOOTREST BETWEEN A DOWNWARDLY FACING RETRACTED POSITION BENEATH SAID BASE AND AN UPWARDLY FACING EXTENDED POSITION FORWARDLY OF SAID SEAT, AND A TENSION SPRING COUPLED BETWEEN SAID SEAT AND ONE OF SAID FIRST PAIR OF LINKS AT A LOCATION WHEREIN SAID SPRING IS SHIFTED ACROSS THE POINT OF PIVOTAL SUPPORT OF SAID ONE OF SAID LINKS UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID LINKAGE BETWEEN SAID RETRACTED POSITION AND SAID EXTENDED POSITION TO THEREBY RESILIENTLY RESIST MOVEMENT OF SAID LINKAGE FROM EITHER OF SAID RETRACTED OR EXTENDED POSITIONS. 